Lotte Department Store’s Foreign-Customer Sales Pass 1 Trillion Won

Lotte Department Store said Tuesday that its sales to foreign customers across South Korea had surpassed 1 trillion won, or about $744 million, marking a first for a Korean department store operator.

The retailer reached the milestone after foreign-customer sales exceeded its entire 2025 total of 734.8 billion won as early as July. Lotte attributed the acceleration to overseas demand for luxury products as well as Korean fashion, food and cultural experiences.

The company’s operations in Seoul’s Myeong-dong shopping district accounted for roughly 520 billion won of the total. Its flagship store there has expanded its selection of Korean fashion brands and organized themed events aimed at international visitors.

Foreign-customer sales at Lotte’s Jamsil complex in eastern Seoul doubled from a year earlier. Shoppers from North America and Europe generated 35 percent of foreign sales at the complex, an increase of 15 percentage points from their share in 2019. The figures suggest that the growth is broadening beyond the Asian tourists who have traditionally formed a large part of Korea’s inbound shopping market.

The gains also extended beyond the capital. Lotte said sales to foreign shoppers at its Busan stores rose 150 percent from the previous year. Its stores in the southwestern region, including Jeonju and Gwangju, recorded a doubling of foreign sales over the same period.

Spending increased across several categories. Foreign luxury sales more than doubled from last year, while Korean fashion sales also doubled. Spending by overseas customers at food halls and restaurants climbed 50 percent.

Lotte plans to introduce online preregistration for its tourist membership program, which has signed up 250,000 people since launching late last year. Customers will continue to collect physical cards in stores, and the company plans to add self-service kiosks. It also intends to extend benefits for foreign shoppers to regional branches in cities including Daegu, Daejeon, Jeonju and Pohang.

Chief Executive Jung Hyun-seok said foreign visitors seeking Korean culture and lifestyle experiences have become a core customer group for department stores. He said Lotte would continue developing shopping experiences and merchandise tailored to global customers.

The momentum is visible across the sector. Shinsegae Department Store posted 850 billion won in foreign-customer sales during the first nine months of the year, more than twice its year-earlier level. Hyundai Department Store had accumulated 805 billion won as of Monday. Both rivals expect their annual totals to exceed 1 trillion won by year-end, pointing to intensifying competition among Korea’s leading retailers for international spending.